Biomass As An Alternative Source Of Energy

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the review of local and foreign literature and studies related to the

research study conducted. This accommodates concepts and ideas from journals, case studies,

electronic documents, and words of other researchers that are highly significant to the study.

Renewable Energy vs. Fossil Fuel Energy

Renewable energy are those that come from sources which are naturally replenishing but

flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in duration but limited in the amount of energy that

is available per unit of time. However, this type of energy resources such as wind and solar energy

are constantly replenished and will not run out. Most known types of renewable energy sources

are hydropower, geothermal, wind, solar, and biomass. Biomass may include wood and wood

waste, municipal solid waste, landfill gas and biogas, ethanol, and biodiesel. Fossil fuels, on the

other hand, are non-renewable which means they came from finite resources that will eventually

diminish. As a result, this sources are becoming too expensive and greatly damaging to the

environment as time goes. (“Renewable Energy Sources,” n.d.).

Since 1900’s, as more countries become industrialized and world population escalate, the

energy consumption also increases constantly. Currently, the most dominating energy source

around the world is the fossil fuel, most especially the crude oil. The reserve of this energy source

is known to be limited and will deplete in the near future at its current consumption rate, which

causes its price to increase. As the world economy is heavily dependent on oil, its limited

production and alarming availability could cause severe problems.

 Aside from the statement that fossil fuels will no longer be readily available for everyone

in the next decades for its limited productions, the burning of fossil fuels also causes environmental

concerns. Burned fossil fuels emits greenhouse gasses (GHG), one of the major reason of climate

change. In its obvious sense, it does not only damage the environment but also harm the beings

that live in it. These reasons pull the interest of exploring the use renewable energy sources.

“Renewable Energy Sources” (n.d.) describes sunlight, along with the rain, causes the

plants to grow. The organic matter that constitute or compose those plants is called biomass.

Biomass is one of the types of renewable energy source. It can be used to produce electricity,

transportation fuels, or chemicals; and the use of biomass for any these purposes is known as

bioenergy.

According to Jay Cheng, the production of energy from biomass such as wood, wood

waste, crops, herbaceous, and organic waste has more advantage than producing energy from fossil

fuels. Biomass is a renewable energy source, which means it is able to be replaced by the nature

in just a year or for several years. Unlike fossil fuels, it would take thousands or millions of years

for it to reproduce.

For the damage and effect of this sources to the climate change, Cheng discloses his

statement as this:

“The energy production from biomass releases CO2, which is believed to be a major

greenhouse gas and cause global climate change, but the CO2 is utilized by biosynthesis during

the growth of the biomass. Thus, using biomass for energy production can have a balanced CO2

production and consumption or little ne CO2 release, compared to a huge discharge of CO2 from

burning fossil fuels.”

 The source of energy consumption in the U.S. in year 2016 includes 80.7% fossil fuels

which include petroleum, natural gas, and coal, 6.9% nuclear energy, 5.8% biomass, 2.5%

hydroelectric power and 4.0% other renewable energy (Energy Information Administration, 2017).

In United States, until mid-1800’s, most of its nations were highly dependent on wood as

a source of energy especially for the need of heating, cooking, and light. Currently, U.S. relies

heavily on fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, and natural gas as a major source of energy. Until

1900’s, the most used renewable energy source in the country was hydropower and solid biomass.

In 2017, about 11 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu) were provided by renewable energy- 1

quadrillion is the number 1 followed by 15 zeros- equal to the 11% of the total energy of

consumption of U.S. About 57% of U.S. renewable energy consumption was by the electric power

sector, and about 17% of U.S. electricity generation was from renewable energy sources. (EIA,

2018)

According to Jay Cheng, there is a noticeable increase in the percentage of biomass energy

in the last ten years. Biomass energy can be generated from crops, grasses, woods, agricultural

residues, and organic wastes which are amply available. Therefore, there is a great potential for

biomass material to increase the energy production.

Benefit of Using Bioenergy

The crisis for the need of sustainable fuels can be addressed by the ethanol production.

Ethanol is provided by biomass which is mostly produced through fermentation process using

glucose. This glucose may be derived from sugar (sugar cane, sugar beet, molasses), starch (corn,

wheat, grains), or cellulose (forest products) as raw materials. Therefore, ethanol is renewable.
 According to Bioenergy Australia, ethanol production does not interfere with food

production since it is mostly made from waste products such as sugar cane, waste from starch

production, and red sorghum.

According Renewable Fuels Association, there is already a well-developed market for

ethanol in the United State. Since 1980’s, the use of ethanol for fuel transportation has been

steadily growing. The United State industry, in 1981, produces 200 million gallons of ethanol

annually and has continued to grow ‘til the present. In 2015, almost 15 billion gallons or 57 billion

liters of ethanol were produced. And in year 2017, it has produced 15.8 billion gallons of ethanol.

Ethanol used as an additive to gasoline supplies to replace the octane enhancer’s lead,

benzene, toluene, and xylene as they were being removed from gasoline because of toxicity

concerns. The addition of ethanol to gasoline that boost octane is an alternative to more severe

refining operations making ethanol one of the most cost-effective octane enhancers available to

the refiner and blender today. (Renewable Fuels Association, 2018)

According to Jay Cheng, biogas is generally produced from organic waste materials such

as sewage sludge, agricultural wastes, industrial wastes, and municipal solid wastes. Using

vegetable oils, animal fats, and waste oils, biodiesel can be produced and aid problem by being an

alternative for petroleum diesel for busses and trucks. Number of commercialized plants that

produces biogas are in operation which utilized sewage sludge, animal manure, and municipal

solid wastes into an effective electricity generator or direct combustion of heat for heat production.

This processes does not only help in aiding the limited availability of non-renewable energy

resources, but also help in protecting the environment by being a proper treatment for waste

materials.
 According to Jay Cheng, there are four major benefits that can be gain in using and

producing bioenergy generated from biomass, and these are as follows:

1. Energy Independence: Most economy depends on the imported oil that came from limited

oil-producing countries in the world. One of these countries that are highly dependent on

imported crude oil and natural gas reserves is the United State. U.S., containing 4% of the

world population, consumes 25% of the world's oil production. This dependence on oil

leave the country vulnerable to disruption of oil supplies that may be cause of natural

phenomenon, political interruption, and price volatility. Small change in the prices of

crude oils also affect the U.S. economy by increasing trade deficit, decreasing industrial

investment, and lowering employment levels. As a way of aiding these catastrophe, the

country may increase its consumption of domestically produced renewable resources, such

as biomass- derived transportation fuels (e.g. E15, E85). In 2010, the dependence on

imported oils was reduced for 445 barrels due to the production and consumption of

ethanol. With the development of bioenergy markets, the deficiency of countries to oil can

be met by the domestically produced renewable biomass resources. (Mid-Atlantic

Bioenergy council)

2. Air quality: Oxygenated fuels such as ethanol typically promote more complete combustion

as compared to fossil fuels. More complete combustion translates into fewer emissions,

particularly carbon monoxide (CO) emissions (National Science and Technology Council,

1997).

3. Water Quality: According to Victoria State Government, biofuels such as ethanol and

biodiesel are biodegradable and less toxic than Petroleum-based fuels and petrochemicals.

These chemicals are actually harmful to the environment and are major surface and ground
 water-pollutants. In U.S., the methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) has possibly damaging

the water quality and human health. For this reason, MTBE is replaced by ethanol as the

preferred octane enhancer because of its ability to breakdown quickly and less threat to

environment.

4. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emission: The combustion of fossil fuels results in a net increase

in the emission of GHGs (primarily carbon dioxide) into the atmosphere. According to the

US Energy Information Administration, the US transportation sector is responsible for

approximately one-third (1/3) of all carbon dioxide emissions. The impact of GHGs on

global climate change is of increasing concern around the world. Use of biogas, bioethanol,

and biodiesel as energy sources can significantly reduce the net GHG emissions. For

example, the use of E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) can reduce the net emissions of

GHGs by as much as 25% on a fuel cycle basis as compared with the gasoline (Wang,

1999).
References

Cheng, J. (2018). Biomass to Renewable Energy Processes. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.ph/books?hl=en&lr&id=impQDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=inf
o%3A_BPb7fAub_wJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F&ots=1CZvFY41nY&sig=32vH57eQ9g1ET
2fbPJQi-2My4OM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=true
Fuel Ethanol (July 2018). Renewable Fuels Association. Retrieved from https://ethanolrfa.org/
How is Ethanol Made? (n. d.). Retrieved from
http://biofuelsassociation.com.au/biofuels/ethanol/how-is-ethanol-made/
Mid-Atlantic Bioenergy Council. What is Biomass. Retrieved from
https://www.mabec.org/bioenergy/benefits-of-biomass/
National Science and Technology Council, Committee on Environment and Natural Resources,
Executive Office of the President of the United States (1997). Interagency assessment of
oxygenated fuels. Retrieved from https://clu-in.org/download/contaminantfocus/mtbe/ostpfin.pdf
Renewable Energy Sources - Energy Explained, Your Guide To Understanding Energy - Energy
Information Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/?page=renewable_home&fbclid=IwAR3_HyTi99uwajekV
HQLXUmD-K_gqdRYYrSrVcMU30oquP4IGWvr1VBT8Tg#tab1
Renewable Energy World (n. d.) "Types of Renewable Energy". Retrieved from
https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/index/tech.2.leftinheritedbottom_standard.html
Renewable Fuels Association. Boats, Motorcycles, and Small Engines. Retrieved from
https://ethanolrfa.org/consumers/boats-motorcycles-small-engines/
San Miguel Plans Power Plants' Transition to Biomass Technology. (October, 2018) Retrieved
from https://www.doe.gov.ph/energist/san-miguel-plans-power-plants’-transition-biomass-
technology
Victoria State Government. (n.d.). Benefits of Bioenergy. Retrieved from
https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/renewable-energy/bioenergy/benefits-of-bioenergy
Wang, M. Q. (1999). Fuel cycle greenhouse gas emissions impacts of alternative transportation
fuels and advance vehicle technologies. Transportation Research Record, 1664, 9-17.
Baculi, Elpidio Jr.
Marceño, Denielle
Mangahas, Jan-fer
Guevarra, Kyl
Gagani, Rainer